Thursday, February 3, 2011
"Another Pan" Another#2 by Daniel & Dina Nayeri (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman)
Overview: Wendy and John Darling are attending high school at the prestigious Marlowe School. Marlowe attracts the richest children from New York society. While the outside of Marlowe appears to be just an ordinary school there is something more lurking in the shadows.
An Egyptian exhibit has made its way to Marlowe. Within that exhibit is the mysterious book known as The Book of Gates. It is believed that The Book of Gates contains a magical element that will transport any individual who speaks the magic words to ancient Egypt. Wendy and John come across the mystery that the exhibit contains while cataloging and cleaning up various elements within the exhibit.
Coinciding with the exhibit’s arrival, a charismatic RA appears by the name of Peter. Peter is on a quest to find The Book of Gates and search for the elements that will make him immortal. Unfortunately, another individual is hot on The Book of Gate’s trail and is looking to prevent Peter from gaining immortality.
Peter will use Wendy and John Darling’s knowledge to help him achieve the elements he needs to achieve immortality and live forever. It is up to Wendy and John to not only help Peter but protect Marlowe from the evils of the ancient exhibit.
Format: Another Pan is the second book in the Another series. It is a YA novel filled with magic, mythology and a unique twist on the Peter Pan story.It can be read without reading the first book in the series. Another Pan was published by Candlewick Press.
Analysis: If someone walked up to me and told me that there was a book that involved a loose interpretation of Peter Pan and a mixture of Egyptian mythology and artifacts I would have probably laughed. The two sound so different that they would be a disaster in a story. However, Another Pan proved me wrong.
Another Pan takes a very loose approach to Peter Pan. There is just enough influence for those who like Peter Pan to appreciate the influence it has on the story without it turning into a disaster. There are the Lost Boys, a boy who tries to fit in, Peter looking to never grow old, a man with a ticking watch and a few other Peter Pan influences that really make the story shine. In fact, I found the subtle hints of Peter Pan to be the best element of the novel. One of my favorite parts was when Peter would get upset there would be "happy thoughts" texted to him. Which was a very unique part of the story.
The whole Egyptian artifacts and mythology section of the story really added a unique twist to the story. While the Egyptian artifacts and mythology played a major role, the reader wasn’t left out of the story. Everything was explained which was a major bonus as many stories that use mythology assume the readers have previous knowledge of the mythology.
The characters within Another Pan were all detailed and fleshed out. Everyone had multiple sides to them and the authors really take the time to develop them so that readers really feel as if they know the character. Though I wasn’t a huge fan of John at times. I felt he was immature and frustrating but then again most 13 year old boys can be at times.
Overall, I was amazed at what Another Pan had to offer. There is plenty of action and adventure to keep the reader entertained but there is also a solid, unique plot element that will amaze any readers. The creative take off of Peter Pan was done tastefully and will attract any fans of the classic novel.
2:20 AM | 
Posted by
Cindy |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
2 comments:
I keep passing this and its predecessor (another faust) at the bookstore and meaning to pick them up and read them.
Thanks for another great review pushing me that much closer to reading these books. I truly hope to get to at least one of them this year.
I still haven't read the first one Another Faust. So I can't judge on that one but this one was fine without the first one.
There is a reoccurring character but that was about it. :)
You're very welcome I was very surprised with this novel :)